iTunes Review

An Old 97's fan favorite but largely overlooked outside that circle, Wreck Your Life put Bloodshot Records on the map in 1996 and remains an essential document of that era's alt-country resurgence. The Dallas dynamos are firing on all cylinders throughout, Rhett Miller's crackerjack turns of phrase ("She started out on Percodan and ended up with me," "You made a big impression for a girl of your size") spiked with sharp, twangy lead guitar and the old Johnny Cash chucka-boom train beat revved so hard it nearly runs off the rails. There are precedents for this sort of thing, of course - including country outlaws and the Bakersfield buckaroos - but punkified country doesn't come hotter, or more fun, than "Victoria," "Doreen," and "Big Brown Eyes."

Biography

Formed: 1993 in Dallas, TX

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

Although they became one of the most enduring bands in the alternative country-rock catalog, Old 97's drew inspiration from a broad range of genres, including the twangy stomp of cowpunk and the melodies of power pop. Formed in 1993 by frontman Rhett Miller and bassist Murry Hammond, the group spent the bulk of the decade posed on the brink of mainstream success, issuing albums that often drew warm reviews but never yielded a substantial hit. Old 97's tightened their sound as the decade drew to a...